English 10 Honors
Summer Assignment 2015-2016
Kerry.Davidson@lcps.org
Julie.Hildbold@lcps.org
Heather.Olis@lcps.org
Nathan.burcak@lcps.org
Introduction
You have signed up to take English 10 Honors which is the study of composition and literature. Students in
this class will read a wide variety of works of significant literary merit, with a primary focus on British
authors. Students will be expected to engage in careful reading, thoughtful expression, and meaningful
discussion as a consistent part of class activity throughout the year.
Summer Assignment
The provided summer assignment asks that you read closely and respond thoughtfully to the text throughout
the reading process, annotating significant and/or intriguing passages. [Write directly in the text if the novel
belongs to you; use post-it notes if the novel is borrowed.]
A. July-August: Summer Assignment
→Students will read and annotate William Golding’s Lord of the Flies by Monday, August 31 / Tuesday,
September 1 [first day of school]
Annotation is defined as notation made in the text, either directly in the margins or on purposefully
placed post-it notes; annotations are meant to record your thoughts, comments, observations,
connections, questions, etc. as you engage in the process of reading purposefully and thinking critically.
Suggested Considerations for Annotations:
 Plot and setting changes
 Themes
 Character development
 Point of View and the effect of the POV
 Conflicts [including establishment of, resolution of, and impact on main character]
 Symbols [conch, fire, pigs/pig head, glasses]
 Imagery and Figurative Language [simile, metaphor, hyperbole, personification,
B. First week of school: Formative Assessments
→Students will use completed summer assignment annotations to discuss, explain, make connections,
find deeper meaning, etc.
C. Second week of school: Summative Assessment
→Students will use completed summer assignment annotations to write an in-class essay; no separate
note sheets will be allowed – the student’s annotated copy of the novel will be the only permitted
resource.
Sample Essay Prompt
*This prompt is only a SAMPLE and should not be considered THE assigned prompt; assigned prompts will vary.
In literary works, cruelty often functions as a crucial motivation or a major social or political factor. The novel Lord
of the Flies is one in which acts of cruelty are important to the theme. Write a well-developed essay analyzing how
cruelty functions in the work as a whole and what the cruelty reveals about the perpetrator and/or victim.